


Home

by sadyshea



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Adorable, Cuddles, Kisses, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 19:17:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3499835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadyshea/pseuds/sadyshea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robert and Aaron first night together in their new flat that they share. Adorableness ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home

“Wait, so who carries who across the threshold?”

Aaron rolls his eyes, “We didn’t get married, Robert. We’re just moving in together.”

“Just?” Robert objects, grabbing hold of Aaron’s waist playfully. “JUST? I think our journey here deserves to be described with a little more gusto than ‘just’!”

Aaron smiles. Robert’s right. Their path to this point had more than a fair share of bumps along the way. Once Robert finally told Chrissie about he and Aaron, Chrissie threw him out and Lawrence fired him. He basically had nowhere to go and ended up wandering into the Woolpack looking like a kicked puppy. Aaron just so happened to be having a pint with Chas and Paddy when Robert arrived. Ever since then, Robert had been living and working at the Woolpack. The boys still got judging looks from people in the village but the people who mattered accepted it pretty quickly. The White family moved out of the village, leaving Home farm up on the market.

After a few months the Woolpack began to feel a bit crowded so Aaron and Robert decided it was time to find their own place. Even though they’d technically been living together for months already, it was still thrilling to find the little hole in the wall that they were going to be sharing.

And here they are. Standing outside the front door of the adorably dilapidated flat that was now their home.

“You’re right.” Aaron nods, putting the key in the lock. “It’s not ‘just’. This is big. It’s important.”

Before Aaron can push the door open, Robert grabs him by the shoulder and twists him around. Robert presses his lips against Aaron’s.

Aaron pulls away quickly, his eyes darting around sheepishly, “The neighbors might see.”

Robert raises an eyebrow, “Taking the step back into the closet, are we?”

“No.” Aaron blushes fiercely. “It’s just that it’s our business and nobody else’s, y’know?”

Robert’s gaze softens, running a hand gently through Aaron’s hair. “Sorry, A. You’re right. Why don’t we go inside and do some exploring?”

“Perfect.” Aaron nods quickly, turning around and opening the door.

Aaron’s jaw drops when he sees that half the boxes are already unpacked. He turns toward Robert, eyes wide, “Did you do this or did we just have a reverse-burglary?”

Robert is beaming. “I snuck in while you were at work. I wanted it to be a surprise. Do… you like it?”

“I don’t like it…” Aaron pulls Robert in by the collar and slams the door. He pushes Robert up against the door and kisses him. “I love it.”

Aaron can feel Robert’s smirk against his own lips. Aaron pulls away and cocks his head to the side, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” Robert sighs, a dazed look in his eyes. “I’m just… I’m really happy – like, genuinely to my core happy. I haven’t felt like this in a long time. Without a care, y’know?”

“Well, as much as I would like to hunker down with you here for days and pretend like the rest of the world doesn’t exist, the rent still does need to be paid.” Aaron remarks.

Robert rolls his eyes, pushing past Aaron and walking toward their kitchen, “Always such a practical thinker, Mr. Livesy. Don’t you want to play hooky for a few days, _break_ the place in a little bit?”

Aaron drags his fingers over the peeling wallpaper, “I’m pretty sure it’s already plenty broken in.”

“You’re no fun.” Robert shares. “Now close your eyes for a sec.”

“I hate surprises.” Aaron mutters reluctantly. “You know that.”

“Please?” Robert bats his eyelashes ridiculously and somehow it’s convincing enough for Aaron to comply. “For me?”

Aaron sighs and shuts his eyes, hearing Robert bustling around in the kitchen. Little clink and clanks sounds out, so much that Aaron hopes desperately that Robert isn’t breaking something. They really didn’t need to lose their security deposit only a day in.

“Are you done yet?” Aaron questions, his hands nervously tugging at the threads in his jeans.

“In such a hurry, are we?” Robert teases as he continues to prepare whatever surprise he has in store for Aaron. “Do you have somewhere to be that I don’t know about?”

“I’m opening my eyes.” Aaron warns, just as something is passed into his hands.

He opens them to see a champagne glass brimming with bubbles. He looks up to Robert in confusion. “Bubbly, really?”

“Really, really.” Robert responds and presents a crazy expensive bottle of champagne.

Aaron’s jaw drops, “How can we afford that?”

Robert’s eyes dance with mischief, “I may or may not still have the key to the Home Farm’s wine cellar.”

“Robert!” Aaron retorts, aghast at his boyfriend’s actions. “Are you taking the piss? You could have gotten yourself arrested!”

“Says the man who took part in a staged B & E because I was blackmailing him for having knowledge about his illegal parts trading operation.” Robert counters with a satisfied look on his face.

“Oi!” Aaron narrows his eyes. “I thought we weren’t going to be bringing any of that nonsense up anymore.”

“Exactly!” Robert agrees enthusiastically, lifting his glass so it meets Aaron in a toast-like gesture. “The past is the past. This is to our future… together.”

Aaron can’t help but smile as he tips back the glass of delicious champagne. He looks back at Robert and wonders if its just the drink getting to his head or the reality that he and Robert are actually living together that is making his head spin.

“You all right?” Robert wonders, setting aside his glass and advancing toward Aaron, his eyes full of concern.

“Yah.” Aaron looks down at the floor, embarrassed by the sudden wave of emotions that have come over him. He doesn’t like to cry in front of people, especially not in front of Robert. “I- I’m fine.”

Robert gently lifts Aaron’s chin up so that their eyes meet. “I know you too well. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? That I won’t judge you?”

“It’s just… like you said, I’m happy.” Aaron breathes out, the tension releasing from his body as the word do. “I just can’t believe we’re here right now. I mean, like not exactly _here_ here but like, together. That we’re an ‘us’ now.”

“The champagne’s made you sappy.” Robert coos playfully. But then he sobers, “But it’s true. A year ago, I would never have thought we’d be here either. I mean, I was still with Chrissie, power hungry and selfish. You were my bit on the side that I never really considered could be anything more… and then, one day it just kind of changed. I started hating everything about my life. The tackiness of Home farm, the way I was using my marriage with Chrissie to ensure my job security and mostly, I hated how I was manipulating you.”

A chill runs up Aaron’s spine as he remembers waiting on Robert’s calls to be able to see him again, when he was being strung along, in love with a man who seemingly would never want anything more than a shag.

Robert strings his fingers into Aaron’s and Aaron is brought back to the reality of the moment. Robert continues, “Then I saw you at the Woolpack, just chatting with Paddy and Adam. You were probably discussing some ridiculous new business idea and you were laughing about something. It made me realize you were so much more than a bit of the side. You were the only thing I wanted and I know that sounds insane, to wake up one morning and everything changes but it’s how it happened. Now I didn’t act upon it right away. I was confused and then, well, I couldn’t stand being talked down to by Lawrence and lying to Chrissie was getting to be too much. So… I told the truth. For once in my bloody life, I told the truth and… here we are.”

Robert’s told him bits and pieces of the story but it didn’t take much for Aaron to accept Robert into his life. But hearing this makes Aaron even more sure he made the right choice about giving Robert a second chance, a _real_ chance.

“Now who’s sappy?” Aaron replies, giving Robert a quick peck. “Now, as much as I like all this reminiscing and celebrating and such, we do have a home to make our own. Shall we?”

“I think I need another drink first.” Robert pours another two flutes of champagne.

Aaron laughs, downing the drink. “Alcohol can be sometimes highly motivating.”

Five hours later, Robert and Aaron are exhausted. They’ve made a good dent in the set-up of their flat but there is still tons of work to be done. The champagne bottle is long gone and Robert even ran out for a carton of beer that’s mostly been demolished as well.

“Sloppy homemakers, we are.” Aaron slurs, the hard work and drink gone to his head. “We should have a housewarming party or whatever.”

“And who would we invite to that?” Robert questions, his eyebrow arched amusement. “Everyone still hates me.”

“The people who matter.” Aaron objects, “Adam, Vic, Chas, Diane, James, Cain, Andy and Paddy. I bet we might even be able to convince the Barton boys to grace us with their presences.”

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘grace’ to describe what that would be like.” Robert scoffs. “Although I wouldn’t mind catching up with Finn to find out what his opinion of the new Supergirl is.”

“God, you two are such geeks.” Aaron chuckles. “I’m surprised you never talked _nerdy_ to each other.”

“Oh god, please don’t put that picture in my head.” Robert pulls a face of disgust. “He’s like an adorable little lamb who wears glasses. Never. _Never.”_

“I’ve been there.” Aaron responds. “With Finn, I mean. I was pleasantly surprised and well, drunk but nonetheless, he was very… confident and… inventive.”

“Good god.” Robert shakes his head, wanting the image out of his mind. “Let’s never speak of this again.”

Aaron laughs, “Deal.”

“Although I might be interested in exploring these inventive things you mentioned.” Robert responds, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“We don’t even have a proper bed yet.” Aaron points out the heap of sheets and the sad excuse for a futon that’s currently arranged in the corner.

“That hasn’t stopped us before.” Robert reminds Aaron. “I think a barn is a far cry from a bed and we used that for a while.”

“The hay was surprisingly comfortable.” Aaron counters. “Aside from the bugs.”

Robert laughs, “Thankfully we’ve upgraded since then.”

“I dunno, I think we might have more roommates than we’re aware of.” Aaron explains, his eyes looking at the grimy state of their flat, as much as he loves it at the same time.

“Stop being paranoid.” Robert explains, pulling Aaron close.

Aaron gives in and as Robert kisses him, everything else falls away…

When Aaron wakes up the next morning, he smells coffee and bacon. _His favorite combination._ His neck hurts but he’s not sure if that’s to do with the lack of pillows or some of the ‘inventive’ things he and Robert got up to the previous evening. Aaron wonders if the neighbors heard anything…

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Robert greets Aaron brightly. “Want something to eat before work?”

Aaron sluggishly makes his way up to sit at the table in the kitchen. “Yes, please.”

Robert sets down two plates and two steaming cups of coffee. Aaron can’t help but adore Robert in moments like these. Robert sits down next to him and they begin to eat.

Aaron looks between Robert and the mess of a flat that surrounds him. Robert catches Aaron scanning the room and puts his hand on Aaron’s gently. “It’s kind of crazy that this is ours, right?”

“Yah.” Aaron responds, feeling a swell of happiness and pride come over him. “It’s _home.”_


End file.
